Curragh Athletic's contribution to the local community has always been evident throughout the clubs forty year history. For long periods in the seventies, eighties and nineties, Curragh were in fact the only sports club located in the area. The club played for twenty three years on a rented pitch at Crossroads. Apart from the obvious benefit of providing sport for the local community, the club possess a proud record of not only providing superior facilities but also providing many memories of both a football and social nature.

Local Curragh Cup

The Famous "Curragh Cup" organised annually by soccer enthusiast and club stalwart Seamus Mc Kelvey, the cup was an annual event for the local community spanning some six weeks every summer. The competition was well supported locally and indeed for most of the early years was sponsored by local hardware merchant William Mc Creary and in later years by Donegal Creameries.

Fas participants completing the landscaping

outside the Sports Complex.

Presentation of Curragh Cup to winners St Catherines from Killybeys in Brownes Bar, Crossroads.

New Community Links

But it was in 1995 that this small football club in the heart of the Finn Valley made what was to a major contribution to the local community and the local landscape. The acquisition of a potential site for a new Sports Complex owned at the time by local farmer Herby Patterson was agreed and finalised by committee members Frank Kelly and John O Loughlin. The rest is history. Planning permission was sought and permission was granted for a football pitch and related facilities. However, at that time three members of the club committee were also involved in a local community group, Killygordon Amenity Team Enterprises based in Killygordon. This committee was later partly merged with a similar group that existed at Crossroads at the time and a new group was formed namely Crossroads and Killygordon Enterprise Ltd (CAKE). With a major input from the three members of Curragh Athletic, a community analysis was conducted and top of the needs from this survey was the provision of proper Sport and Recreational facilities at Killygordon. In particular Frank Kelly, was to play a major role in the development of this new centre. John O Loughlin and Tommy Callaghan also were active members of both organisation for the development of the centre.

Donation to Community

After discussions and agreement, the Football Club agreed to provide the new committee with a suitable site within their new grounds for a Resource Centre which would compliment the existing plans of the club. The area was leased on a 99 year lease at a nominal rent of €5 per year. The club had already been approved three amounts of funding from the National Lottery as well as several amounts of funding from local councillors and this helped clear the site for the new centre. Both organisation were successful in joint applications to both the National Lottery as well as Donegal County Council. The club also had many further successful funding application to the National Lottery, Donegal County Council Task Force for Peace & Reconciliation and the local Councillors Development Fund. CAKE were awarded funds from the International Fund for Ireland and from the Peace & Reconciliation Programme to fund the construction of an Enterprise Centre and Hall.

Contribution to New Footpath

The commencement of the construction of sports complex in Killygordon completely opened up major development between the villages of Killygordon and Crossroads. The clubs contribution was immense particular when you consider that the committee firstly provided 300 meters of land along the perimeter of their site to Donegal County Council to commence work on the laying of footpath which with the help of the local Fas Scheme would later ensure that the local population of the Curragh would have a footpath to Killygordon. The club contribution to this project was by far the largest of any land owner located between the villages.

Development of Walking Track

In keeping with our plan of having community participation, a new walking track was developed around the new football pitch. Thankfully the walk is used extensively by local walkers who use the track to keep healthy and in shape. In particular, the track is used by local mothers in the morning after they drop off the kids at Dromore School.